A load control system may include one or more sensors, load control devices, load regulation devices, and/or electrical loads. A load control device may be adapted to control an electrical load. For example, a load control device may control an electrical load by controlling the amount of power delivered from a power source (e.g., an alternating current (AC) power source) to the electrical load (e.g., via a load regulation device of the electrical load). An example of a load control device may be a light switch. A load regulation device may be configured to receive a signal from a load control device and control an electrical load in response to the received signal. For example, a load regulation device may receive a form of mains line voltage from a mains power source (e.g., via a load control device) and convert the mains line voltage to an appropriate voltage waveform to drive the electrical load. An example of an electrical load may be a lighting load, such as an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, a gas discharge lamp (e.g., a fluorescent lamp), a phosphor-based lamp, a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp, a light-emitting diode (LED) light source, and the like. An example of a load regulation device may be a ballast for a fluorescent lamp or an LED driver for an LED light source. An example of a sensor may be an occupancy sensor, a vacancy sensor, a daylight sensor, a temperature sensor, and the like.
Referring to FIG. 1, an example state diagram of a prior art turn-on procedure 100 for a load regulation device is illustrated. The load regulation device may be part of a load control system. The turn-on procedure 100 may include two states, a low power state 101 and an on state 102, and may be characterized by a transition 103 from the low power state 101 to the on state 102. The low power state 101 may be characterized by the electrical load being unenergized. An example of a low power state 101 may be an off state. In the off state, no power is consumed by the load control device and/or the load regulation device, and the electrical load is unenergized. Another example of a low power state 101 may be an electronic off state. In the electronic off state, a relatively small amount of power is consumed by the load control device and/or the load regulation device, and the electrical load is unenergized. The on state 102 may be characterized by the electrical load being energized.
The load regulation device may change from the low power state 101 to the on state 102 in response to an input. The input may be an analog input and/or a digital input. For example, the input may be the actuation of an actuator (e.g., a switch) of a load control device of the load control system, a signal received from a sensor of the load control system, and/or the like. The transition 103 from the low power state 101 to the on state 102 may be characterized by one or more of the following: rendering conductive a controllably conductive device of a load control device, energizing a processor of the load regulation device, charging a power supply of the load regulation device, initializing a communication channel (e.g., a communication link) between a load control device and the load regulation device, preheating one or more filaments of an electrical load, and energizing an electrical load.
Referring to FIG. 2, an example of a prior art turn-on procedure 200 for a load regulation device is illustrated. The load regulation device may be part of a load control system. For example, in the load control system of FIG. 2, a load control device (e.g., a light switch) may be coupled in series electrical connection between an AC power source and the load regulation device (e.g., a ballast) for an electrical load (e.g., a fluorescent lamp). The state diagram of FIG. 2 illustrates an example depiction of the states of the prior art turn-on procedure 200. At 201, the vicinity around the electrical load may be vacant, the load regulation device may be in a low power state, and the electrical load may be unenergized. The low power state of the turn-on procedure 200 may be an off state, where no power is consumed by the load control device and/or the load regulation device and the electrical load is unenergized. Alternatively, the low power state may be an electronic off state, where a relatively small amount of power is consumed by the load control device and/or load regulation device and the electrical load is unenergized.
At 202, a user may enter the vicinity around the electrical load (e.g., the room in which the electrical load is located). When the user enters the vicinity around the electrical load, the load regulation device may stay in the off state and the electrical load may remain unenergized. At 203, the user may actuate an actuator of the load control device. When the user actuates the actuator of the load control device, the load control device may connect the load regulation device to the AC power source (e.g., by closing a switch of the load control device), such that the load regulation device may change from the off state to the on state, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 1. Alternatively, if the low power state is an electronic off state, the load control device may transmit a control signal to the load regulation device to cause the load regulation device to change from the off state to the on state. The on state may be characterized by the electrical load being energized.
In the turn-on procedure 200, the load regulation device may change from the off state to the on state upon actuation of the actuator of the load control device. However, the turn-on time of the electrical load may be noticeable to the user. The turn-on time may be the time it takes from the user's actuation of the actuator (e.g., at 203) to the electrical load becoming energized (e.g., at 204). The noticeable turn-on time may be due to the steps and/or functions that may be performed during the transition from the off state to the on state upon the actuation of the actuator. For example, since the load regulation device is in the off state when the user actuates the actuator at 203, and since the off state is characterized by no power being consumed by the load control device and/or the load regulation device, the transition from the off state to the on state may take a noticeable amount of time (e.g., approximately 1 second or more). Not only can the noticeable turn-on time aggravate the user, but the noticeable turn-on time may cause user operation errors, such as subsequent actuations of the actuator by the user before the load regulation device reaches the on state. These errors may further frustrate the user and degrade the user's experience.